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Well I always feel it's necessary to offer a counter view, and quite frankly there's been enough positivity about this game. So I'm going to take it in the opposite direction and say I thoroughly do not like this game. At all.
I wrote a blog post about why I don't like this game, but I'll summarise my thoughts thusly; The Gambit system turns the game into an auto-play scenario where you're only necessary input is to push the directional button. The Uber Bosses in the game aren't challenging, they just take ages to kill and often require cheap tactics to survive. Penelo is utterly superfluous as a character and smacks of a lousy character design process, while the rest of the party is either under developed or boring. Maps often lead into areas where you're not supposed to go and can see you have to back track due to dying accidentally. Espers are useless to the point of their inclusion in the game being a tacced-on element that wasn't properly tested or balanced. Every step of the game has you going to get some MacGuffin of a plot device only to be shipped off to another area to do the exact same thing. Plus you have to dredge through seemingly endless corridors of samey, unimaginative dungeons to get anywhere. The script is atrocious, in that there is little to keep your interest for most of the game and the scope never matches the promise. Plus the actual so-called "bad guys" in the game aren't actually that bad thus removing any sense of urgency. O, and the drops system in regards to enemies spawning and items; nothing short of a cheap cash-in. The developers admitted they made the drop system so convoluted so as to force consumers to buy a strategy guide.
Large worlds and several enemies to kill does not a good game make. Despite common opinion you can't pile crap on crap and get gold.
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Oh Yeah there is also no cheesey love story crapin up the story of this game.
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I love this game to bits, flaws and all.
I didn't like the battle system at times, and sometimes I didn't really get the storyline (mainly because the cutscenes were so far apart that I often forgot bits of the story), but it was just so different from other games in the series and that's what appealed to me most.
The licence grid system was ok I guess (I prefer the Sphere Grid, myself). I absolutely loved the Gambit system, though. Like Quin, I was constantly changing my gambit list. I was always playing around with gambits to see what was the most effective, and if battles were starting to bore me, I would try new gambits to mix things up a little and make the game more interesting. I also loved some of the technicks, especially charge, which is an absolute lifesaver when it actually worked.
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I adore this game hardcore, and most of the things seen by others a "flaws" are things I consider strengths. It's impressively, refreshingly different from other FFs, especially in the storytelling style.
Brilliant dialogue, memorable characters, and - as a bonus - one of the neatest couples in FF history, namely Fran & Balthier:D
